Dark nights
A rainy day it was,
Wading thro’ flooded streets,
The good roads non existent,
A dark night it was going to be.

Walking with my classmates,
Amusing an unusual phenomenon,
The heavy rains, I meant.
I nudged alongside my mates,
Holding on to deserted crates,
God bless them,
For I had seen road at ten.

My happiness exits as soon as it enters,
The trains cancelled; an expected matter,
I stranded amidst muddy pools and waters.

Off I went, with little money to be spent,
To catch the bus in the rush,
Hush! Hush! Hush!
I am wading thro’ the waters again.

The lightning strikes,
As I cross some parked bikes,
Scan at people walking and trotting,
Across the other end of the rotting road.

It was there I saw,
Beneath the beautiful sky,
Above the sacred earth,
A flash in my mind,
A beautiful girl,
Set my heart on fire,
The wind, a smooth zephyr,
Drowned me in the elemental ether.

The beautiful girl,
Was one I had seen,
But not been, and a chill passed up my spleen.

Ripples in my heart,
Feeling blood flow thro’ the body,
I fell from grace,
I felt human again.
Some guts I garnered,
And bits of speech I bantered,
But her beauty amidst the dark night,
Reminded me of the Arabian nights,
And Chinese kites.

She was a fairy tale,
Looking gorgeous and hale,
A surreal energy accompanying me,
But words deserting me,
Felt numb down the knee.

The mystery of the life,
The mystery of the universe,
The mystery of the creator,
The mystery of love,
The mystery of death,
Time stood still.
The heaven’s opened up,
I fell in love.

And then, there was light!

The new year's passed by. I was sleepy when the first rays of 2008 greeted me. I, for a moment could see the entire of 2007 pass in a flicker. Issues, that rocked me and were rocking were aplenty. I guess I had let the entire year pass by, and had not any specifics tattooed to my inner self. Well, specifics not on terms of mere credentials, but they add that minimal meaning to the purpose of our existence. Joining Infosys being the high point of the year, and that point being partly aided by the fact that my joining date coincided with the unearthing of the new 7 wonders of the world; led to quite a frenzy of number logic from my mom. It was a day that wouldn't step out of my memories; no, not for the numbers; those moments would forever be pressed on to my finer being. All's good. Period.

I get up from the bed and happily nudge myself into the living room. I am wished by my mom and the aunt who's come over from Bombay. Birthday wishes, they were and strikingly, it has been almost a month since the new year passed. I am in into my year 22 of existence. The training's done at Infy and I am into a project over which my dad happens to be very happy about. But, I think. And I am still thinking. Something doesn't seemingly set in. What was that? Life sucks? No. The new bike? No. Like for the job? No. Love for the job? No. Passion? Bingo! The passion's conspicuous by its absence. It is the defining factor and I can feel that void. Men have made and moved armies, built societies, spoken about singularities and sex, not by mere adrenalin, but passion in their being and doing. It drove them to do things that seemed outright crazy and preposterous for their fellow beings. Life has offered me glimpses of it, but they have remained mere sneak peeks. It is in us to shed mortal coils and step into the fab world of impossibilities. I guess, it was there, that humans figured that the impossible was very possible. Contentment at a mere peep would amount to murder. A plunge. Perhaps. Living there. An unwavering yes. But where? And how?

My journey begins.